Haridwar,January 18 :The few days were hectic in Haridwar with about 1.5 million pilgrims taking the holy dip in the Ganga on the occasion of Kumbh Mela. But a recent study by a reputed Uttarakhand- based voluntary organisation has put a question mark over the quality of water in the Ganga.
The People Science Institute ( PSI), a Dehradun- based NGO, recently studied the Ganga water and found it unsuitable for bathing. The PSI scientists took samples from 10 drains along the river at different locations in Haridwar on January 2 and 3, along with samples of the river water at three locations.
The NGO claims the water does not meet the standards for bathing set by the Central Pollution Control Board. This is primarily because of the continuous discharge of untreated wastewater and effluents from various drains directly into the river. The outfall from the sewage treatment plant ( STP) at Jagjeetpur alone releases about 129 million litres daily ( MLD) into the Ganga with a fecal coliform concentration of about 34 million/ 100ml.
The fecal coliform count of the wastewater discharged by the 10 drains ranges from 2.35 million/ 100ml to 40.6 million/ 100ml. The worst situation is the sewer drain at Jwalapur, Balmiki Nagar, which releases an estimated 15 MLD containing 40.6 million fecal coliforms per 100ml.
The river water samples taken at Saptrishi, Har- Ki- Pauri and Jagjeetpur showed fecal coliforms counts of 1000, 1500 and 7.5 million per 100 ml.
These are well above the prescribed CPCB standard of 500 MPN/ 100ml and they pose a health hazard to millions of devotees who are likely to bathe in the river during the Kumbh Mela.
“ The present results do not show any significant improvement in the wastewater draining into the Ganga or the treated effluents at Jagjeetpur, compared to the results we obtained in July 2009,” says Dr Anil Gautam, head of the environmental quality monitoring group at PSI. “ We had circulated our results of July 2009 to all the state legislators and ministers. It is evident no one in the government paid any serious attention to our warning that the Ganga was polluted and steps must be taken before the Kumbh Mela,” he added.